November 2, 2016
I hope you're reading this next post on a full stomach. If not, you're tummy will definitely grumble for the next few minutes.
In our 24 hours in Nagoya could be summed up in two words, it would be "happy tummies". All we did was EAT EAT EAT. We had every intention of seeing the fall colors here but again, we were a little too early so we did the next best thing.
Most, if not all, the following photos were taken by Jonathan's cousin, Stef. She is an uber talented graphic designer based in Hong Kong, who also has a food blog that you should check out: Broke and Cooking, and our partner in crime when it comes to eating, traveling, and having a good laugh.
Our first night in Nagoya, we had dinner at Misokatsu Yaboton for their misokatsu, which is breaded pork with a red miso sauce. Yum yum yum.
After dinner, we made our way to Yamachan, an izakaya offering a ton of different dishes, but specializing in tebasaki wings. According to the menu, these wings can be eaten in one bite because the meat is so tender and just falls off the bone. We weren't skilled enough but saw many locals do it easily. Along with our wings, we also enjoyed some salmon sashimi and fried cheese balls.
Just when we thought our night of eating was finished, we had an impromptu meal at McDonald's so Stef could get a Happy Meal toy of one of her favorite characters -- Purin. In case you're curious, she got the measuring cup.
The next morning, we stopped by Konparu, an old school coffee shop specializing in an ebi furai sando, a breaded shrimp sandwich, with lettuce and an omelette. So yummy! We also shared a pork katsu sando, and a surprise star of the show, ogura toast -- red bean paste on buttered toast. SO GOOD.
Stef and I were walking behind Jonathan, taking pictures and dreaming of our next feast. Little did we know that it would come a little sooner than we thought.
We stopped at this man's little shop just to see what he was serving. Before we knew it, we were paying for a donut with ice cream that we didn't really order. It was easier to just take it instead of trying to explain that we were just looking at the menu.
Next on our list was kishimen noodles, which are a flat, broader noodle usually served in soup. We read that the best noodles were at a restaurant at the Atsuta Shrine. You know it's good when you're surrounded by all locals, chowing down on the same thing.
Our whole time in Japan, Stef and I were on a quest to eat Japanese soufflé pancakes. We realized though that the best were probably in and around Tokyo but still wanted to try to find the best that we could. We made a quick stop at a cafe, which made for a fun photoshoot but still not quite what we were looking for.
We hopped into Furaibo, another izakaya specializing in tebasaki wings. Although not pictured, their wings ended up being our favorite over Yamachan. Below is a picture of fried mochi with potato.
For our dinner, yes, dinner...we went to eat hitsumabushi at Atsuta Horaiken, which is an unagi bowl Nagoya style, which is meant to be eaten 4 ways.
First, you use the wooden paddle to divide the unagi bowl into four sections. The first time, you just eat the unagi and rice by itself.
Second, you add nori, wasabi, and green onion.
Third, you add nori, green onion, wasabi, and clear soup.
And last but not least, eat the rest of your unagi however you like! I liked the 3rd style the best with the clear soup, while Stef and Jonathan liked the second. I would say Atsuta Horaiken is a must for anyone who likes unagi and visiting Nagoya. So so so good!
Yup, after all of that, we made one more stop at Hoshino Coffee before heading home for the night. We tried the pancake soufflé and pancakes -- again, not completely satisfied but only more incentive to fulfill our pancake dreams next time.
The next morning, before jumping on a train back to Tokyo, we stopped for more kishimen noodles at Nagoya Station. This quickly became our favorite dish from Nagoya and need to find it when we're back in the States!
Hungry, yet?